Nothing But A Hood
by Red Witch
Summary: Lance reflects on what happened between him and Kitty at the end of 'Mainstream'. Warning: extreme sadness inside.


**I don't own any X-Men Evolution characters. But if I did…well It's not like we didn't know this was coming. Kitty and Lance broke up. (Sob!) Of course this does give me ideas! Well at least Jean finally broke up with Duncan the Dunderhead as well so it wasn't a total loss! Here's a bit of sadness on the situation. **

**Nothing but a Hood**

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

All he intended to do was do a little X-Geek bashing. It was worth it to join up with Duncan in order to beat the crap out of Summers. After all, they no longer had a leader thanks to him. Why shouldn't he help anyone who wanted to see him suffer?

And it wasn't like this had to happen. Duncan was only interested in Summers. If Summers had the guts to fight like a man alone that's just what would have happened. There never would have been a battle. Just a fight between the two of them. They would have left the others alone if they just went inside. Then after Duncan was finished with his bit, then he would have gotten a piece of the action. 

But no. They had to stay there and join the fight. That's when it happened. 

"This is the real you isn't it!" Kitty screamed at him with hate in her eyes. She grabbed him by his uniform. "You're nothing but a hood!"

_Nothing but a hood…_

It hit him like a punch to the stomach. It shocked him to his very core, looking in those eyes. Those gentle eyes that had once looked on him so tenderly and with kindness. Eyes that he thought would have seen past his tough exterior. Now they looked like the eyes of every person he had ever met. 

_Nothing but a hood…_

That's what the people at the orphanage said he'd grow up to be. 

_Nothing but a hood…_

That's what his foster parents always said.

_Nothing but a hood…_

That's what his teachers always called him. 

_Nothing but a hood._

That's what every father of every girl he thought was pretty thought of him. 

_Nothing but a hood. _

That's the label every single adult Lance had ever met in his life put on him from the time he was eight. 

_Nothing but a hood. _

Those were the words and thoughts all the other X-Geeks ever thought of him.

_Nothing but a hood. _

And now Kitty was saying them.

The anger came out. "That's right. I'll never be good enough for you!" He snarled. Before he knew it he lashed out, throwing wave after seismic wave towards them all. He wasn't aware of anything but releasing his anger, his rage, and the pain of rejection. The parking lot was soon destroyed. He looked around and saw that he had nearly killed several innocent people due to his powers. He couldn't believe what he had done.

And then the saw the X-Men team, all off them glaring at him, ready for a fight. Duncan was unconscious on the ground. _Great, _He thought. _Three to six, seven if you count Xavier! _He ordered them to run and get out of the area. Not having much of a choice they did. They didn't stop until they got home.

"Well I don't think Kelly's gonna extend us another invitation for us to come back to school," Todd said as they got home. 

"Ah who'd wanna go back to that loser place anyway?" Fred waved his hand. "I tell you one thing, we really trashed that parking lot good! Way to go Lance!" 

"Yeah," Lance grumbled as he pulled of his helmet. 

"Hey come on Lance," Todd said. "So you finally broke up with Kitty. Big deal. It's not like it wasn't gonna happen anyway."

"Yeah she dumped you," Fred said. 

"I can't believe I was so blind," Lance sat in the chair. "How could I have been so stupid? How could I have been so stupid? I was an idiot to think she was any different. I was stupid, stupid, stupid! You know you guys can stop me any time ya know!" 

"No I think you're onto something," Fred told him. 

"She wasn't any different," Lance said bitterly. "I know that now. She's just like all those other X-Geeks. She called me a hood."

"You are a hood," Todd pointed out. "One of the **Brotherhood.** And she is one of the **X-Geeks**! Get what I'm saying?" 

"It never would have worked would it?" Lance sighed as the last bit of hope shattered inside his heart. 

"Nope," Fred shook his head.

"What do you think we've been telling you for months?" Todd told him. "Ah cheer up Lance. Way I see it, she wasn't good enough for you anyway."

"Yeah I never could understand what you saw in that ditz," Fred scratched his head. 

"She was the first mutant I'd ever met," Lance said. "The first person who was like me. Can you see what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," Todd said softly. "I get it. It was like when I first met Mystique. I didn't feel alone anymore. Someone understood what it was like to be…" Todd clenched his fists. 

"Yeah," Fred nodded. "I gotcha. Well at least it's all over."

"You got that right," Lance said. "Even if I wanted to I couldn't…The things I did…what I said…"

"Don't forget what she said," Todd pointed out. "She's the one who stopped talking to you Lance. Don't forget that."

"Yeah forget that loser," Fred patted him on his shoulder. "She's history."

"Yeah forget about it," Todd hopped over. He gave Lance a quizzical look. "Hey, are you cryin'?" 

"No!" Lance said hotly, tears starting to leak from his eyes. 

"Hey Lance take it easy," Todd said. "No chick's worth crying over."

"I'm not crying! Now shut up and leave me alone!" He stomped upstairs. He slammed the door in his room. He let out a scream and his powers unleashed, shaking the room. 

After a few seconds Lance stopped. His head hurt and he was still angry. He started kicking furniture, grabbing books and throwing them against the wall. He kept screaming as tears rolled down his face. Finally he looked at a picture of Kitty on the dresser. He grabbed it, intending to tear it to shreds when he took a good look at it. 

She was smiling. She seemed so happy and carefree. Lance sat down on his bed, looking at it. "Why Kitty?" He whispered to the picture. "Why?" 

"I loved you so much," Lance whispered. "I would have done anything for you. Anything. And I did. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough!" 

He crumpled the picture in his hands. _What was I to you? Some kind of thrill? The bad boy you got to date for a while until you got bored? Did you ever have any feeling for me at all?_

I gave you everything I had and it still wasn't enough. I tried so hard to impress you and make you proud of me. I even swallowed my self-respect and joined the X-Men to be with you! And it still wasn't enough. 

Would you have done what I did Kitty? Would you have turned your back on your friends for me? I don't think you would have. I don't think you wanted to. You couldn't accept me for what I was. Instead you wanted to change me. To make me fit into your perfect world. I'd have never done that to you. I loved you for what you were. 

You hated my friends. Calling them losers. Maybe but they're all I ever had. The closest thing to a family I've got now. Can't you see that? And you hate them more than you love me. 

Is that why you didn't want to talk to me? Did your love turn to hate? It's starting to feel that way for me Kitty and it's tearing me up inside. 

If once, only once you had come to me after a battle and ask me to forgive you I would have been happy. How many times have I apologized for what I did? Like when we first met. It was wrong of me to try and force you to steal exam papers. That was like trying to change who you were. I know that now. When you started to hang out with me, I thought you had finally forgiven me for all the terrible things I've done. That someone finally saw the person inside of me.

But to you I'm just a hood. And I always will be. 

Why?

Why can't you forgive me? 

Why can't you love me for who I am instead of who you want me to be? 

He smoothed out the picture. "I want to forget you…" He whispered to himself as he hid the picture in the back of his drawer. "Maybe someday I will. But now…I can't. I don't want to, but I have to teach myself to hate you. We belong on different sides now. You want humans to accept you. I don't care what they think of me."

He sat back on the bed and closed his eyes. _Kitty please forgive me…_He wished silently. Wanting desperately what he knew deep in his heart he could never have. 


End file.
